Luke's Adventure
by Fan-Tasticly-Lame
Summary: What if Owen, Obi-Wan and Beru had died, leaving Luke to fend for himself? And a few others... ON HOLD. Sorry...
1. Chapter 1

Luke sat upon a roof, looking over the city of Mos Eisley. It was an abandoned building, one with the domes on top. But there was enough room for Luke at the edges. And it appeared someone else had used this spot before. There were 'adult drink' bottles everywhere. Although many of the bottles where Luke's he couldn't take all the credit. Luke was getting ready for a heist in the wretched city. One day he would get out of here. But that day was not today.

Today he was a thief. Not an easy title to live with, though. Especially with him having the ideals he did. Luke hated stealing, but he was good at it. And, hey, he didn't want anyone to starve on his account. Today Luke wasn't going out alone. It wasn't with a 'normal' friend though. Heck she wasn't really a _friend. Luke's normal friends would never have accompanied him on missions like the one he was about to embark on. His normal friends had homes and family. Luke had nothing. He met them when he had went racing in his old T-16 at Beggars Canyon. He'd had some fun times there. Biggs was his favorite out of all of them. He had heard that he was leaving planet to go to the Imperial Academy. Luke almost wished he was old enough. Piloting had always been his dream, racing through the stars, shooting down enemies! What more excitement could one ask for? Luke wasn't sure if he'd like to be recruited in the Imperial Navy however. He'd heard Darth Vader, the commander of the entire fleet, was a major badass that would kill people for looking sideways at him. Luke ran his hand through his hair as he watched the suns set in to one of those sunsets that you would always remember. Around the suns the sky was a red-orange fading out into indigo blue one the other side of the horizon. The stars were starting to come out and dotted the sky. Part of him wished the sky would always stay like this. He might have hated Tatooine, but it always seemed... wise to him. Like the sands held ancient knowledge not even the Jawa knew about. He figured he was just full of it._

_"Focus on the present." He said, reprimanding himself. As a street kid he had fast learned, if you don't focus on the present you get caught. And he couldn't get caught. He had a nest of younglings to take care of. Technically though he wasn't a street kid. But it was easier to call himself that. Luke had taken around ten kids, ranging from five to fourteen, into his old homestead. He was the oldest, fifteen, and the place had belonged to his late Uncle and Aunt. He was technically still a kid. He didn't feel like one though. He figured most fifteen year-olds didn't have to take care of ten kids. Or steal to feed them. The Wookie Chalmun was the closest thing Luke had to a father, he had given him a job. Heck, he had even took the time to teach Luke Shyriiwook! But he knew Chalmun couldn't scrape up enough credits to feed ten kids. With his job as a bartender/bouncer Luke could pay to feed half of them. With his... other activities, the others. He was painting his skin and hair. If someone saw him at the crime scene... he didn't want to be recognized. Working at a bar tended to make you popular among the locals. But if he got a bounty put on his head... he knew even the closest friends would trade him out for money. It was a sad truth. But one he'd learned to live with. After Luke finished he grabbed some broken glass from a bottle next to him. _

_'I look like a Zeltron!' He thought as he examined his now red skin and black hair. He shook bad memories off as he dropped the glass shard. 'Stupid Zeltrons. Can't take a freakin' joke.' As he jumped off the roof of the rundown building into an alley, landing on his military issue boots. He glanced up to the stars once more. Dreaming of the day he'd find enough money to get all the kids, and him, off planet. He planned to take them to Naboo. Luke shook his head once more. 'Focus!'_

_He had to go meet Chumi at their rendezvous point. Chumi was as human as Luke, but she certainly could be from another planet. She looked very exotic, and that was her greatest strength. Most people were willing to extend aide if the beggar looked as good as her. He took off to the rendezvous, anxious to see his girlfriend._

_xXx_

_When Luke got to the sewer entrance he didn't see anyone. The entrance to the sewer was a large half circle, three stories high. There were buildings around it. Mostly inhabited by spice addicts and alcohol abusers. As he arrived Luke sensed immediately what Chumi was doing.. No one had ever been able to sneak up on him, so all the kids made a game out of trying too. Chumi had decided to join their game, he decided to play along with her this time._

_"Ai'ushi?" He called out her code name for the week. He pretended to look around for her. Though he knew she was right behind him. In an ally slightly to the left._

_"Ai'ushi Muscipula, where are you?"_

_"You're not a very good actor, Vulpes." Chumi came lurking out of the shadows, calling Luke by his own weekly code name. Luke spun around and beamed in her direction. She had painted her self a rich blue with light purple hair. She was wearing ratty clothing, but she had died it black. They were almost matching, except their hair and skin. Luke's shoulders sagged._

_"I thought I was getting better!" He said in an I'm-obviously-joking tone. He had been trying. He just wasn't very good at lying. Stealing, however, he was very good at._

_"Yeah, you have," Chumi said ignoring his tone. "You've improved from Gizka to Sandperson!" She said poking her pink tongue out at Him. Luke didn't find the joke very funny. His Aunt and Uncle met their deaths at the hands of Sandpeople when he was just nine. A man named Obi-Wan Kenobi had been able to save Luke somehow. But not himself. The young man smiled to Chumi but heart wasn't in it this time. She realized what she said and her eyes almost fell out of her head._

_"Oh! Aw! Sithspit! Hey, Bud," She said. "You know what I m-" She knew she was wasting her attempts of a save and sighed. "So," She said changing the subject. "Where we hitting up tonight?" Luke smiled at that, Chumi was always up for adventure. Just like him._

_"I found this shop in Mos Espa. It's a while away, but it's owned by a Toydarian. I've heard they're pretty wimpy when threatened." He grinned at his own cleverness._

_"Mos Espa." Chumi said to herself in a whisper. "Near the slave quarters?" Luke had hoped she wouldn't bring that up. Chumi had been a slave once, something she never talked about. Something she could never go back to. She had ran away less than a year ago, and had somehow found a way around the chip they had implanted in her._

_"Well, yeah. I figure if we don't do anything stupid we'll be alright." He said, shrugging off her concern. It would be fine, he sensed it would. And he had learned to trust his senses._

_"If I was going with anybody else," She stressed anybody. "I wouldn't do it. But since your the luckiest boy I've ever met. I will." Luke's smile shined, it was always heavy though. He was only fifteen and had ten kids and himself to care for. "Let's head out!"_

_xXx_

_They ran. They ran from the lights and guards chasing after them._

_"Sithspit, Vulpes! I thought you said it would be fine!" They were dodging trash cans and slaves alike._

_"You can hardly blame me!" Luke screamed over the sirens. "How was I supposed to know the old bird had a security system like that?" He was thankful they had colored themselves so different from normal. The authorities would look for a Zeltron and... whatever Chumi was supposed to be. Instead of a couple of light skinned humans._

_"You can always tell when someone has a security system, Bantha Breath! And you're the one who tripped it this time!" _

_"Resorting to name calling, I see!" He said with a laugh._

_"Shut up, Idiot! We need to drop the crap!" Chumi was right. But Luke couldn't drop it. He had to feed the younglings. He pulled her to the side and ducked behind a building, safe for at least a minute._

_"No." Luke said with resolve. He looked down. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't like it. He only used the Force in dire sitchuations. But, unfortunately, this was dire._

_"Ai'ushi, drop the stuff. Get back to the base. I'll be there in half an hour." Chumi knew the homestead where they stayed was at least an hour and a half away, but Luke was a smart guy. The authorities were probably listening into their conversation, and he wanted to lead them off their trail. Chumi did what he asked. She threw down the parts, then... then kissed him on his cheek._

_"See you in a bit, Vulpes Veritas." She ran away out of sight, and he knew she'd be safe. Chumi was very resourceful, they would meet up at his speeder. He touched his cheek where her lips touched. He shook his head. 'Stay focused!' Luke was going to try to lift all the parts... using the Force. He had levitated three things at a time before. But now he was attempting ten. He stretched his arm out... and the pieces rose! 'I'm doing it' Luke thought. He knew it was risky. He wasn't sure he could take all of it out of Mos Espa without getting caught. But he had to try. If not for his own self for the children. He was about to duck out of the building when the police hoverer came out of nowhere. Luke, knowing he would be safe, smiled for the camera before he ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Sometimes faster._

_xXx_

_Luke escaped Mos Espa without being tracked. He had made it all the way to Mos Eisley before letting down his steal from the air. He was near Vuulaz's Emporium. The place he went to too sell his lifts. It was almost mid-night but the store was still open. Vuulaz was the owner, he was a Rodian. And the best thing about Vuulaz's Emporium was that he never checked for ID. Which was good because Luke didn't have one. He wiped his paint off earlier, just in case. Luke walked in, the stench hit him first,. He'd smelled bantha better than this rot!_

_"Hey Vuulaz, I got some stuff for you." He said with his nose cringing._

_{Ah! More money you bring with you?} The voice came from an adjoining room. {Many much money, eh?} Luke never learned Huttese, but he, for some reason, understood it. Vuulaz came out of his office._

_"Yeah, bunch of parts I came across."_

_{Ahh! I love the way you come across things, Lukay!} He said, mispronouncing his name. That was another thing good about Vuulaz. He didn't care if what he bought was stolen or not. The Rodian followed him outside to the junk pile. He studied it for a while before answering. _

_{I'll give you seventy for each piece.}_

_Luke had to work hard to hide his excitement. That would be enough to feed them all for the next month! Plus extra that he always put away for their passage off this gods-forsaken planet. _

_"That'll do." He said with a shrug and apathetic expression. They went inside. Luke followed Vuulaz into his office._

_{So,} Vuulaz started. Luke groaned inwardly, he wished Vuulaz wasn't so insistent on small-talk. {How it goes at the Cantina?}_

_"Oh, it goes fine." The boy said, knowing the Rodian didn't really want to know. Luke watched with thirsty eyes as Vuulaz counted credits._

_{What about that Chumi you've been dating?} Luke wished he hadn't told him about Chumi. Vuulaz was a nice man. But he got on Luke's nerves nonetheless._

_"Chumi's fine I guess. She's a nice girl. I can't believe She'd been a slave." Luke wasn't hesitant to tell the Rodian about Chumi's illegally running away. Thieves don't rat on convicts. Or something like that…_

_{Ah... slaves aren't usually good for mates. Much too needy.}_

_"Are you almost done?" Luke asked trying to change the subject. _

_{Youngling should learn patience.} The 'youngling' only glared at him, thinking it would be bad if he pulled his modified DH-17 on him. {There you go, seven hundred credits.} _

_Luke's good mood returned at the sight of paycheck. "Thanks Vuulaz!" He stuffed the creds into his pocket and walked out of the store. He took a nice breath of fresh air, or at least the freshest air one could get in the armpit of the galaxy. _

_xXx_

_He saw Chumi before she saw him. She had also wiped her coloring off. He was carrying their groceries for the next month or so in his arms._

_"Hey! Sorry I'm late." Luke said with a grin._

_"Oh my gosh! Look at all that food!" _

_"Good to see you too, Chumi." He used her real name now that they looked like themselves._

_Chumi helped him get the food into the speeder._

_"This would... this will feed us for at least five weeks!" She exclaimed._

_"Yeah, Vuulaz gave me seventy for each piece. I have extra that I'm putting away for passage off this rock, too."_

_"Oh," She said with less enthusiasm than Luke expected. "How close are we?" They finished putting the food supply in the speeder and got in._

_"Well I figure," He said as he turned the speeder on. "If we get to go where I want, one more thousand."_

_"Wow, you're so close..." She said looking off into the stars._

_"We're so close." He said grabbing her hand and squeezing. She took her gaze away from the sky._

_"We." She repeated._


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of Jizz rang in Luke's ear. Figrin D'an was really on tonight, they were playing one of Luke's favorite songs. He was humming along just low enough that no one would hear. Normally Ackmenna would share the night shift with him. But she'd been sick, so Luke had taken over. He was in the bar serving patrons, and occasionally tossing idiots out. Serving scum drinks was more favorable than scraping the scum out. Especially if said scum got too intoxicated and in turn violent. Unfortunately he had both jobs. Luke was well liked among the people here, though. He gave them alcohol. That made him right in their books. Just then two of Luke's best friends came in, he hadn't seen them for almost standard year! Han Solo raised his hand to say hi, and Chewbacca gave a respectful nod. Han Solo was the captain of the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca was first mate. Han walked over to the bar, oozing cockiness.

"Hey, kid!" Luke grimaced at the nickname, but it melted into smile.

"Hey Han, Chewie! Can I get you something?" He asked. Just then he was serving two particularly good looking women.

"Yeah, get me one of those!" He said pointing to one of the girls. The one he pointed at looked at him. Luke read her expression; Coy.

"Sorry Captain," Luke said hoping to help his friend along in his quest. "I can't get you one of those." He said winking at the other one after he finished giving them their drinks.

"Well in that case I'll have some Correllian rum." Han said, still eyeing the girls.

"Coming right up." Luke said. "How 'bout you, Chewbacca?"

{No thank you, cub.} Luke's attitude was pleasant with Chewie. He didn't care that he called him that. Chewbacca was almost two hundred years old, as Opposed to Han who was only in his mid twenties.

"How's the fast lane treating you guys?" Luke asked with true interest.

"Well, I've officially got the new all-time record on the Kessel run." Han answered with pride in his eyes. "Twelve parsecs." Luke thought about that as he gave him his drink.

"I thought a parsec was a unit of distance?"

"It is." Han said obscurely. Luke raised an eyebrow at that. "I managed to skirt closer to the black hole. Cut off six parsecs." Han took a swig of his rum.

"Wow," The Luke said. "Sounds fun!" Han smirked at his enthusiasm. Most people he told about that affair called him crazy.

"You know my offer still stands. If you ever want to ditch those kids, Chewie and I are more than ready for an extra hand on deck." Luke knew a fight would come after this conversation.

"Han, you can't se-" Just then he noticed Han looking at the view screen behind them. Luke looked too, it was a news cast about Darth Vader chasing the Rebellion. A blonde human woman with a strange accent was broadcasting.

"The Imperial Star Destroyer _Devastator_ is in pursuit of the Rebel ship the _Tantive IV_.

We have just been informed that Lord Vader himself is overseeing the chase,

and that it might be resolved over the skies of Tatooine itself."

The bar had almost gone silent, except for the band, hearing that news. Most people here were criminals of some sort. Luke got the feeling that the population would downsize for the next week or so. The noise picked back up once the woman went on to more local news. Luke grimaced. Obi-wan, the man who saved him, had told Luke once that Vader killed his father. He didn't want that bastard anywhere near him. He knew Vader killed people all the time. But no one Luke knew, so it didn't affect him so strongly. But knowing that, for whatever reason, the murdering psychopath killed his father really pissed him off. Somehow, someway, he would get back at him. Han, noticing how upset Luke had gotten, started talking.

"So, I heard you got a new squeeze." Luke looked up at him and gave him a lop-sided smile.

{Mates should hardly to be addressed as a 'squeeze'} Chewbacca said. His seriousness and Han's cockiness always seemed to balance each other out. Luke thought they made perfect friends.

"Yeah, I did. Her names Chumi. She isn't my mate, though." Luke said with an impish look at Chewie.

"Chumi..." Han repeated to himself with a brooding face. He looked up in Luke's eyes. "What species?" Luke didn't know why it was important so he answered.

"Human, like me. She has short black hair and tan skin, upturned nose. Brown eyes. Bit shorter than me." Luke smiled thinking of her. Han shared a nervous glance at Chewie as Luke turned to get a regular more drink. Han shifted. But Luke saw. 'He's uncomfortable.' Luke thought. "Why's it important?" Han shifted again.

"Ah... kid... there's an... Well there's a bounty hunter by the name of _Umi. And... well. And she fits that... that description."_

_Luke stared at him. Not comprehending his words. "You think my girlfriends a bounty hunter?" He hissed in a hushed tone, in case someone was listening._

_"Hey Luke, I'm not saying she is. I'm not saying she's not either. But umm... how long has she been around you and the kids? You weren't with 'Chumi' last time I was in town."_

_Luke didn't particularly want to tell Han anything else. But something told him he should. "Almost a year. Ten months or so." Han cursed under his breath._

_"Kid, I'm pretty damn sure this 'Chumi' you're dating is a twenty eight year old bounty hunter. Last time I saw her she said she was going after a prize. That was last time I was here. A year ago." Luke narrowed his eyes at him. Chumi never told him her age, he just assumed she was a teenager. But he didn't really have a hard time believing she was older than him. But he was still skeptical._

_"Why would a bounty hunter go after a street kid?" He asked, his voice cold as ice. He really didn't want Han to be right._

_"Listen, Umi and I have known each other for a while. Whenever she goes after someone she changes her name, just in case her prey has heard of her before. I'm not saying that 'Chumi' is Umi. I'm just saying you should be careful. And I have no idea why a bounty hunter would be after you," Han lowered his voice and leaned in. "Unless you've gotten caught in your little late night activities."_

_Luke stiffened. He had wondered if Han knew he was a thief. Now he knew he did. "I've never been caught. And besides, Chumi's been with me on a few of those." Han looked doubtful._

_"Well then she's probably not interested in your stealing. Anything else you've been up too?"_

_Luke thought about that for a bit._

_"I guess I can think of a reason, yeah. But this isn't the place to talk about it." Han and Chewie exchanged a nervous look. "My shift's over in an hour, I'll see you outside."_

_XxXxXxXxXxX_

_I walked up to the blood testing facility. I had finally saved up enough creds to get some long wanted information. I walked into the building expecting it to be like everything else on Tatooine: Old, run down, and covered in sand. I was shocked when I came in and it was completely white and sterile. A nice looking woman behind the receptacle desk looked up as I walked in. The lobby was empty so she looked excited for stimulation._

_"Hello there," She said in a warm voice. "How can I help?" That must be a required line, what else could I be here for? I held back my sarcasm._

_"I don't know who my parents are, and my guardians were killed." I said biting my lip, but I figured being upfront was okay._

_The woman gave him a look of sympathy, she probably saw kids like me all the time. She took me to a back room where she had me sit on a cold hard bed._

_"The doctor will be in soon." I smiled at her, she seemed an alright sort. And it didn't take long for a large, tan, balding man to come in the room. He didn't seen nearly as kind as the receptionist._

_"So, Jami tells me you need a blood test for parents, right? Don't know who they are?" Again I held back my sarcasm._

_"Yes, sir." I replied. I didn't want this guy to get mad. I'm no wimp, but I knew it would be a hell of a fight between us. The man just grunted. He grabbed a needle and my hand._

_"Won't hurt a bit, kid." He stuck the needle into my finger and drew a drop of blood. It didn't hurt at all. The man went to the other side of the room where he had a datapad attached to a computer. and looked at it for a minute before he spoke._

_"Almost done... there we... oh." His eyes widened as he looked at the answers I so desperately wanted to see._

_"Well?" I asked, why was he shocked? I ran through probably all the possible answers before he spoke._

_"No wonder you don't know..." He detached the small datapad and threw it at me. "Kid get out of here, run as fast as you can. You need to hide, got it?" The man looked distressed, whether it was for him or for me I couldn't tell. He really scared me, so I grabbed the datapad and ran. I ran out into the lobby. The receptionist, Jami, looked at me. Her eyes full of concern. I didn't stop to look at her though. I just ran. I ran like the Dr. told me too. I ran at least two blocks away before ducking into an alley. I saw a small group of Storm troopers run by. I looked at the datapad in my hands, it read:_

_Mother: Padme Naberrie, Naboo._

_Father: Anakin Skywalker, Tatooine. JEDI._

_I looked at the datapad, my eyes wide. 'My father was a jedi?'_

_xXx_

_Luke was considering ditching out on Han. Han might be his best friend, but he really needed money. He knew the Empire had very well paying bounties on Jedi. What they did to Jedi kids he didn't know, but it couldn't be good. If Luke's father had been a Jedi that would mean he got killed when Luke was born. During the time of the Jedi purge. And if the blood test was correct it would make sense that Vader killed his father like Obi-Wan told him. The last of the bar-goers had just left, Han and Chewbacca would be outside waiting for some answers. Answers Luke didn't want to give. He was still tossing the idea over in his head that Chumi might be with him to kill him. Or to capture him... he wasn't sure which would be worse. Being killed, or being tortured and trapped in a small room. He was wiping down the bar from all the drunkards who had spilled their drinks and barfed on it. Han came in with Chewie. 'Womp rats!' Luke thought. 'There goes any chance of ditching 'em.'_

_"Well? No one's in here, spill." Han sat down at a booth. Chewie hung back, instead leaning against a wall._

_"I don't... I'm not sure where to start." Luke was looking down. He really didn't know where to start. Luke stepped out of the bar, him and went to sit down in the booth. Han wasn't exactly a father figure to Luke, but sometimes Luke thought he tried._

_"How'd you meet 'Chumi?'"_

_"About a year ago on a job. She helped me carry a lift back to the homestead. The kids took an instant liking to her. She told me she was an escaped slave. The kids begged me to let her stay. And... I mean... what was I supposed to do? Let her scrounge by herself? I just... I just couldn't do that to her." Luke's shoulders sagged and his eyebrows knit together at the thought of being callous to an innocent. Or at least one he thought was an innocent. Han thought about Luke's words for a second before he spoke._

_"Even if you gotten caught, Umi's never been one for small time bounties. What else have you got goin' on?"_

_"I umm... I got a blood test taken two months before I met 'er." Luke said with truth._

_"Well? You find out you're some noblemen's kid?" Han laughed out loud and smirked inwardly at the thought of Luke being related to royalty._

_"No. Not royalty. Not exactly. My... father," Luke said with a small grin at the word. "Was apparently a Jedi knight. Anakin Skywalker."_

_Han and Chewbacca where dumbstruck for a while._

_"The hero with no fear? So you can do the Force hocus pocus thing, right?"_

_{Han,} The two humans both looked at the Wookie. {The Force is hardly 'hocus pocus'. I used to know a fine Jedi before the purge. He was a noble man, one I wish was still alive.} Chewie growled. Luke turned his attention back to Han._

_"Listen Han, I don't care if you don't believe in the Force. That's your opinion." Luke grabbed the datapad he always kept with him out of his boot and tossed it to Han. "But the blood test I took says my father was a Jedi."_

_Han caught the datapad and examined it with wide eyes. Luke figured that's what he looked like when he saw it._

_"Where'd you get tested?"_

_"I forget the name of the place, but it was in the Southeast quarter."_

_"Female receptionist? Dark skinned sultry voice? Ugly Dr.?" Han asked._

_"I wouldn't say sultry... but, yes and yes."_

_"Well damn. That's one of the most accurate places you'll find on this hellhole. Listen kid, if your pops was a Jedi that good reason as any for a bounty hunter to be after you."_

_"Chum- I mean Umi's going to kill me?" Luke asked. Would he have to kill her first? She knows where he lives, would she let the kids live? _

_Han noticed the look of panic running rampant on Luke's face._

_"I still don't know if the girl you're with is Umi. If you assume that and you're wrong it could get messy though. I'd be willing to go with you to your place to see. Come up with an excuse for me being there. I confirm, I shoot her in a non-vital organ if it is her. If not I'll just leave."_

_"You'd shoot her?" Luke asked, not wanting her harm, even if she did want to kill him._

_"Well assuming this test is correct, the Empire probably hired her to capture you alive. A Jedi kid is too rare to just kill one off. The Empire captures them and trains them to serve the Emperor."_

_"You mean King Ugly?" Luke asked, only partly joking. The Emperor was basically the ugliest thing humans had ever brought forth. "I would rather clean up bantha shit for the rest of my life!"_

_"I'll go with you to the homestead." Han concluded._


	3. Chapter 3

He surveyed the Imperial fleet as it moved out of hyperspace . He was at the bridge of the _Devastator_ chasing the juvenile Rebellion. He was barely aware of a pathetic officer sniveling to him. Talking about how they've come out at Tatooine. '_Tatooine_.' He thought. 'I haven't been here since…' He shook the thoughts out of his head. It wasn't wise of him to think about the past at this time. The ship they followed, the _Tantive IV_, had just been hit. His pride flared at the thought of what he would do to them. A different lackey spoke to him.

"Lord Vader, we've shut down their main reactors!" Vader's metallic breathing was the only noise in the entire bridge as they all waited for his reaction. He sensed something though… a tremor in the Force. It was more powerful than what he had once sensed in Master Yoda's presence. It was coming from the planet below. He also sensed it was untrained. He was considering not personally finding the Death Star's technical readouts. Just to see if he could find the source. Why the Emperor even bothered with the Death Star confounded him, and a Force user of this magnitude was a rare find. But the fear of suffering at the hands of the Emperor overpowered his want to find the Powerful Force adept…

"Sir, a bounty huntress we hired on Tatooine demands to make contact. We hired her almost a year ago after several reports of a young Force wielding adolescent. She claims she's found the child of Anakin Skywalker. The dead Jedi general."

xXx

Chewbacca had stayed behind as the speeder only seated two people. The first thing that worried him was that the lights were on.

"Hey kid, it'll be fine." Han said trying to comfort Luke. "I was probably just being paranoid! I mean…"

Han stumbled across his words.

"Listen, I need to know. Even if there's only a possibility that she is." Han nodded in understanding. They got out of the speeder and Han followed Luke to the top room which held the stairs into the main portion of the homestead. As they walked into the open hole Luke ran to check on the kids room. Han stayed behind to check out the place where his friend lived. The kids should all be asleep by now. He opened the door. There was no one in the beds. His eyes all but fell out of his head. His heart-rate quickened and adrenaline pumped. He didn't sense any of them trying to sneak up on him either.

"Bantha-shit!" He screamed. "Where are the kids? Amou? Mekee?" He called their names as he ran out of the room and hallway back to the main area. Han was no where to be found! He saw a light coming from behind the door to the garage. He ran towards it jumping over the wreckage littering the ground. He opened the door and Chumi was standing behind Han near the droid oiler. She held a knife. To his throat.

"Don't come any closer, Luke." Chumi spat at him. Her eyes held a steely determination Luke had never seen in her before.

"Well Luke, at least you know I was right." Han said with sarcasm not usual for one with a knife on their throat. "I'd like you to meet my _friend_. Umi, Luke. Luke, Umi." Luke looked at the girl he had once thought he'd loved.

"Where are the children?" Luke's voice was mirroring Umi's. The sight of her threatening his best friend destroyed any and every good thought he'd ever had of her.

"Don't worry about them. They'll actually be _safe_."

"I kept them safe!" Luke yelled at her, pointing at himself.

"You call stealing to feed them 'keeping them safe'? No Luke. The Empire will keep them safe. And they'll do a damn better job than you." Luke stared at her dumbfounded.

"The Empire? You're giving them to the Empire?" He yelled. He took a few steps closer, but she pulled the blade closer to Han's neck every time he closed their distance. Luke stepped back once again.

"They aren't the only ones I'm giving to the Empire." She said with a calm voice. She stared at him with an almost feral gleam in her brown eyes as she smiled. Realization dawned on Luke.

"You want me because of my father." His mouth gaped. How had she fooled him so easily?

"Yeah, Skywalker. The Empire pays a lot for Jedi kids." She sneered at him. "You think I didn't hear your little conversation with Han at the cantina? To bad your father's dead, eh? He might have been able to save you from this." She chuckled at him looking down then back up at him..

Luke smirked. He had once, a long time ago, found Obi-Wan Kenobi's house. And found a weapon, one he almost never used. But he had trained himself on how to use it. And luckily he kept it in the garage. His eyes shot to where he kept it and stretched his hand toward it. It flew out of the cupboard and into his hand. The luminous blue blade activated in his hands. Umi's eyes went wide as she saw the saber but settled into an expression of complete smugness. A sound behind Luke chilled him to the bone. It was the sound of breathing, but something was wrong with it. It was mechanical… and labored. Luke stepped forward and twisted around. A black figure stood in the doorway.

XXx

He walked down into the stairwell. He had only been here once before. Nearly twenty years ago. He had five troops following him down the cold steps. Tatooine nights were always cold. A million and one questions raced through his head at once. Did the bounty huntress actually find his… his son? Was it actually his son? He was told that when _she _died that she died with child. The Imperial spies said her stomach was still bulging when her lifeless body was paraded through the streets of Naboo. Had that been faked? So that he wouldn't know his child lived through his wife's death? If he found out Obi-Wan was still alive and if he had anything to do with this… but that's assuming this boy was actually his son.

He walked towards the open door. There was screaming coming from both a woman and a man. As he came closer he could hear the activation of a light saber. 'Maybe the child can use it.' Vader thought. 'Or maybe he's trying to intimidate the bounty huntress.' He came to stand in the doorway. He saw the back of the young man. The Force was rolling off him. This one was strong indeed. Vader could already tell the boy was stronger than himself. Farther away there was a woman was holding a knife to a man's throat. The young man holding the saber spun around, his face was one of sheer terror, and hatred. Whatever he had been told about Vader couldn't have been good. Not that there was much good to tell. Vader examined the child very close. His eyes were a striking blue, 'Just like mine own.', and he had sandy blonde hair cut very poorly down to his chin except for his bangs. A strong chin and straight nose. He looked very ratty, despite his good looks. There were splotches of paint in his hair and skin. And his clothes were torn in random places. 'He looks like I used to.' Vader thought. No one could see his expression but it was one of remorse. He could even see a bit of _her_ in him. Her lips, her build… The memory of her quickly went away though. They always did. The boy firmed his grip on his blue blade, and lifted his arms as his dominate leg stepped backwards. He knew the basics. But Vader was an experienced fighter, and he could already tell the boy's form was sloppy. The child was giving him a look of absolute hate.

"Well?" The boy asked. "Are we going to fight or what?" Vader motioned for the Stormtroopers to take the man the bounty huntress was holding into custody. The woman recoiled her blade from his neck and looked at the Sith Lord.

"I expect to be well paid for him" She said as she pointed to the sandy haired youth.

"But of course." Vader answered in his deep commanding voice. "Commander, take the huntress and the man away. Pay the huntress, and do what you would to the man. Leave us now." He spoke with a steely edge. The young one de-activated his light saber and turned to face the man with wide eyes. The older man spoke with a cocky grin.

"Hey kid, I'll be alright, okay? I always am." And as he said that the Stormtroopers bound him and dragged him out the door. Umi followed looking at the boy with a look that said I've-been-waiting-to-do-this-for-so-long. One Stormtrooper lingered, the commander.

"Sir, w-" His voice was replaced by an all too familiar gagging sound. Vader was choking him through the Force.

"I said _leave_ us." Vader released his grip and the man all but crawled out of the room grabbing at his throat.

"What are you going to do to my friend." The young man had turned around to look at him.

"Give me your saber." He said. The young man stood erect, obviously shocked.

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because I would assume that you enjoy having your hands attached to your arms." The boy took that in for a second. He had probably seen enough news holo's to know Vader wasn't one for jokes. He handed the weapon over.

"Are you going to kill me?" The young man asked. Vader hadn't exactly gotten this far. If this was his son then he would take another secret apprentice on. If it wasn't he would either kill him or send him away to be an Emperor's Hand.

"Do you know who your parents are?" Vader asked. He picked up a single thought from the youth. 'Padme.' What?

"No." The child said. "No I do not. My parents are dead and my guardians were killed before I had an interest in knowing." The child was a good liar. But lying to someone who could read your mind was a useless gesture. The child sat down in a chair next to him.

"You are… a very good liar. Who's your father?" The young man's brow knit together.

"Why do you-"

"If you do not tell me I will lose my patience. And if your parents are truly dead then you will get to meet them. Now tell me who your parents are." He spoke the words slow. Calm and collected. The boy pressed his lips together. He was realizing that Vader had trapped him.

"My mother's name was Padme Amidala Naberrie. She lived on Naboo. My father was a Jedi knight. Anakin Skywalker, the hero with no fear. My name is Luke Skywalker."

Xxx

The asshole had trapped him. He didn't want to die so he had no choice but to tell the monster.

"My mother's name was Padme Naberrie. She lived on Naboo. My father was a Jedi knight. Anakin Skywalker, the hero with no fear. My name is Luke Skywalker." He didn't know why he felt the need to say his name. But it sounded good.

"Luke." The dark figure said. It almost sounded trance-like.

"Got a problem with the name, Darth?" He could tell the Dark Lord withheld his anger when he called him that.

"Who were your guardians?" Luke was stunned at the question but answered.

"My aunt and uncle. They died in a sandpeople raid." Vader was quiet for a moment.

"How do you know that's how they died?" The young man was once again stunned. But once again answered.

"I was with them. A man I knew sacrificed himself to save me."

"Who was this man?" Luke didn't know why Darth-y over there was so interested.

"His name was Obi-Wan Kenobi." Luke answered. Immediately he wished he hadn't. His windpipes felt like they were being crushed. Was the Dark Lord doing this to him? Luke grabbed at his throat, but there was nothing there. He stood up, in fact he came off the floor. But there was still nothing on his throat.

"Child, if you are lying to me…" Luke said nothing, he was too busy trying to stop choking. Vader let go and Luke fell face first on the floor. He pushed himself up but was still on all fours.

"Why would I lie? It doesn't serve my interests. Though it might if telling you the truth makes you choke me." He was rubbing his neck with one of his hands. "Why do you even care? Obi-Wan died years ago when I was still a kid." He looked up at the towering figure.

"You _are_ still a kid. How old are you?" Luke withheld his want to spit on Vader's boots.

"Fifteen." Vader stayed silent for a while. Luke counted ten wheezes.

"Come with me." The dark man commanded. Luke was about to protest when the Sith grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the garage.

"Hey what do you think you- Hey!" Vader had dragged Luke to the front of the stairwell before Luke broke free of his iron-like grip.

"Either you will follow willingly or I will drag you by force." Vader said.

"And which _Force_ is that?" Luke asked with sarcasm. Vader bit back;

"The same Force I used to choke you." He answered. "Now which will it be?" The young man flinched when he had mentioned the choke. His throat still hurt! But Luke was actually interested in learning how to do that.

"Are you going to kill me?" Luke asked with fear at the edge of his voice.

"Do you want me to?"

"Why in the seven hells of Correlia would I _want_ you to kill me?" Luke secretly felt smug saying that curse, one he'd picked up on from Han. _Han. _What_ was going to happen to his best friend? What was going to happen to his kids? He no longer cared what happened to Chu- No. Umi._

"_Stop cursing, child. Now do I have to forcibly drag you or will you come willingly?" Luke could tell from Vader's voice he was almost ready to have another outburst. He didn't care about his life. He was NOT following the man who killed his father. He set his face in determination and balled his fists._

"_I'm not following you." Vader looked at him for a second._

"_So be it." He reached his hand out to touch Luke's forehead._

"_Hey! What do you think you're doing!"_

_All the sudden Luke got really sleepy. The last thing he remembered was falling over._


	4. Chapter 4

He awoke to nothing. Nothing but pain. And even that wasn't interesting enough to him. He thought that at least he should be in agonizing pain, but no. It was just regular old pain. They could do better than that couldn't they? It was the Empire for Force sakes and they only gave him mediocre pain! He was already disappointed. He got up to look around. He was in a normal sized room, everything was grey. There were two, grey, doors. He figured one was to a bathroom and the other was to leave. His, grey, bed had, grey, sheets but he was on top of them. Luke was disappointed that they hadn't bothered to tuck him in. Not really though, for that would be creepy. He got up and went to one of the, grey, doors and opened it. Inside the, grey, room was a, grey, refresher and, grey, toilet. There was also a sonic shower.

"Either I've gone colorblind or the Empire is lamer than I thought." Luke thought out loud. He wished he hadn't, the Empire was probably monitoring him. Why did they want him again? Oh yes. His father. Why couldn't his father have been a normal criminal? He knew propaganda stories the Empire had spewed out about how Jedi were an evil bunch of sorcerers that tried to kill the Chancellor now Emperor. But he didn't believe one word of it. When he had found Obi-Wan Kenobi's hut he also found an old personal data pad of his. It mostly talked about him being a General in the Clone Wars, but a lot of it was about the Jedi, Empire and Luke. It talked about how Darth Vader betrayed the Jedi and killed Anakin, Obi-Wan's best friend. He talked about how Vader had been his 'padawan.' Which basically meant his student. He talked about how Vader fell to the Darkside, and how he murdered Anakin. He talked a lot about the Force, all of what Luke had learned had been from Obi-Wan's data pad. He talked about how the Emperor was a Sith Lord, meaning he hated Jedi. He talked about Anakin's relationship with his wife, Padme'. Luke was disappointed though on how little was written about his mother. He talked about the flaws of the Empire, why it didn't work. Over all it was a very interesting read. Luke went back into the main room to find that on the, grey, table was food. Luckily _that_ wasn't grey.

Xxx

He knelt down on the transmitter, a blue holographic figure appeared in front of him. The figure looked old as time itself, but in truth he had only eight decades.

"What is it, Lord Vader?" The Emperor cackled.

"My Emperor, I am in orbit of the planet Tatooine. The Tantive IV is in our custody, however the plans were not found. We are conducting a search on the planet to find them." There was a brief moment of silence before the Emperor spoke.

"I trust you didn't contact me to inform me of this?" His tone was clipped.

"N- No, Milord." He stuttered. "A bounty huntress contacted us while in orbit. She… found the offspring of… Anakin Skywalker." The Emperor's eyes noticeably widened. It was a while before the man spoke.

"This is a… welcomed surprise. Though it disturbs me that I have not foreseen this. You are to bring him to the Imperial Centre. There he will be trained."

"My Emperor," Vader interrupted. "My time is occupied by the Rebellion. How can I.."

"You will not be the one to train him." Vader was about to say something before the Emperor spoke again. "Neither will I. I am to busy keeping those bloodthirsty bureaucrats in line. I have a Hand that is capable. She will train the boy for now." The Emperor's image faded as he said the words, leaving Vader to consider what would become of his child.

Xxx

"Sooo…. Bored…." Luke groaned. There was literally nothing in the room for stimulation. And thinking was getting old. Normally he didn't mind thinking, but that was all he had done for the entire day. At least he thought it had been a day. There was no way of knowing for it was space, and there wasn't a chrono in the room. He was right about the other door leading out of the room, but it was locked from the outside. He really hoped a fire wouldn't randomly start. He was lying on the bed staring at the, grey, ceiling. Every now and then he would doze off and would wake up with some food on the, grey, table. The food was tasteless, but for that reason it didn't taste good. Luke sighed. Would it have killed the Empire to have just killed him right then? He was probably going to die anyways, what was wrong with now? Luke looked around the room.

"Blast." He said aloud. He couldn't see anything sharp enough to kill himself with. Maybe maim, but not kill. He didn't think he'd be able to kill himself anyways. It was then he noticed an air duct, right above the table. Why didn't he see it before? He glanced around the room as if he was worried someone else was in there. Maybe if he got caught they would torture him and kill him. That would be better than serving the Emperor. He shuddered at the thought. He got off the bed and made his way to the table. He climbed up and examined the duct. It was square and had four screws at each corner. He put his nail into the horizontal slit of the screw and tried to turn it. He was unsuccessful, and he hurt his index finger. After shaking the pain off he decided to use a more indirect approach. He closed his eyes and pictured the duct and the screw in his head. He pictured all the screws twisting out of their holes, as he did so he heard a metallic scraping sound. He knew it was working. He opened his eyes to see all four screws hanging halfway out. He proceeded to twist them the out the rest of the way and took the vent and set it on the table as quiet as he could. He felt very cautious, which he found strange as this wasn't the first time he had done something like this. He put his hands at the edge and was just about to pull himself up when the door out opened.

"And where do you think _you're_ going?" A deep voice spoke. Luke turned around to see the most feared person in the galaxy. Of course he had to feel like a smart-aleck at that moment.

"Just goin' for a little stroll around the venting system. Want to join me?" He beamed at the dark figure.

"Do you enjoy pain?" Vader asked. Luke hoped he would be able to get the man to kill him.

"Why yes, actually. Very much so." He started to pull himself up into the vent when he was thrown across the room and slammed in to the wall with a big 'thud.' The pain wasn't terrible, but it didn't feel nice. His earlier feelings of disappointment rose. Vader had done that with the Force…

"Do you _want me to kill you?" He asked._

"_Yeah actually, kinda." Luke shrugged as he fell to the floor. "You might as well finish the job you started with my father." The Sith looked at him for a bit. At least Luke assumed he was looking at him. He had no real way of knowing with that mask of his._

"_You think I killed your father?" He asked. Luke looked up and down at him for a second._

"_Yeah… Are you going to try to say you didn't? So I can, oh, forgive the Empire? My father was a Jedi. You led the massacre that killed them all." Vader was quick to reply._

"_It's true I led the Jedi Purge." Luke flinched at the word 'purge.' "How ever I did not kill your father."_

_Luke expected Vader to say that to him, but, for some reason, he didn't think he was lying._

"_You will be escorted to the Imperial Centre, you are strong in the Force an-" Luke cut him off._

"_I know that, genius." Luke felt his throat start to constrict, but it stopped. Vader turned around and stormed out of the room with his cape swirling around him._

"_Capes are tacky." Luke mumbled after the door closed._


End file.
